Gear Guide 2012: Nantahala Outdoor Center Wesser

GoPro Hero3 Camera: Black Edition — $400

If you’re tired of showing boring vacation photographs and videos to friends and family, try strapping a camera to your head. With this new camera form GoPro, you’ll be able to show them your sky-diving, mountain biking or whitewater rafting trip from the front seat. These cameras can shoot high-definition video and quality photographs and have been used to catalogue a litany of high-profile extreme sporting events. Also, the waterproof and bombproof design allows them to take a beating — one recently fell from 12,500 feet unscathed. This latest model is 30 percent smaller, 25 percent lighter and twice as powerful as previous ones.

SkinFare Topical Nourishment — $10

Touted by the company as “quite possibly the world’s best $10 gift,” this balm is the ultimate skin salve. For lasting relief, it can be applied to skin to help soothe bug bites and minor burns, dry spots, chaffing and certain rashes. Furthermore, it acts as a mild insect repellent and sunscreen. The product comes in a 100 percent biodegradable paper container and its ingredients like beeswax, coconut oil and pal fruit oil are USDA certified organic. For the all-around, earth conscious skin treatment, this is your best bet.

Pyranha Nano — $1,100

The Nano tackles classic boat design conundrums, pulling off features that were once mutually exclusive. This versatile kayak is a combo of three other models — each laser-tailored to their own type of paddling — and arrives at a unique three-in-one design for paddlers wanting a little bit of everything out of their run.

Technically a creek boat, it can handle whitewater runs, yet doubles as a play boat.

It may not fit in a stocking, but at seven feet and four inches it’s just small enough to slide under the tree. This boat is recommended for the expert novice who is the jack-of-all-whitewater-trades but master of none.

Otterbox iPhone 4/4S Defender Case — $50

Outdoors lovers’ favorite rugged activities often involve dust, dirt and rocks — three things that are intrinsically at odds with the fragile nature of expensive iPhones. There’s nothing more devastating than the distinct sound of $400 smartphone shattering on a cliff ledge. But with the Otterbox case, you can take your interactive text, talk, video and internet anywhere with you, knowing that it will probably be OK inside this vault-like case. The Defender comes with a screen protector, a hard-plastic shell and a silicone outer case to protect your phone from falls, scratches and dust. Only the truly irresponsible phone owners can fail Steve Jobs with this thing on.